Title of Project: Northwestern Ontario High School mathematics Contest

Year of Competition: 2010

Grant amount: $1,900

Project Duration: Single Year

Type of Report: Final

Period Covered: 2011

Description of Activity:
We offer four contests each year to high schools in Northwestern Ontario and also in Orillia area; junior (grades 9 and 10) and senior (grades 11 and 12), each in an individual and team format. The students write the individual contest in the morning and the team contest (for groups of three students) in the afternoon. Students in Thunder Bay write the contests at Lakehead University, and students in Orillia area write them at Lakehead University Campus in Orillia while the other schools proctor their own contests and mail them in. The winners of Thunder Bay individual contests are announced at the end of the day with an award ceremony and the winners of the team contests are notified a few days later. The prizes for the other schools are sent out the week after the contest. Books, gift cards, trophies and medals are awarded as prizes. In addition, there is a special $500 scholarship for the grade 12 student with the highest score who attends Lakehead in the fall. The grading is done by Lakehead faculty and graduate students on a volunteer basis.

Assessment of Effectiveness:
Thanks to our generous sponsors (in particular, our principal sponsor, TD Canada Trust), the contest is run at no cost to the students or schools. The contest has attracted more and more students in the region. In its first year 2003, there were 69 participants. In 2011, we see that 219 students from 16 high schools participated in the contest. The individual contest invites the students to use mathematical thoughts to solve the problems independently while the team contest puts the emphasis on student collabortion. The contest also enables us to have a closed contact with high school mathematics teachers. During the contests and the award ceremony, the local newspaper and TV station cover the event.

Future Plans (if any):
We will continue to expand the contest to the area.